How to keep your Black Friday bargains secure

You may have stood in queues at the crack of dawn, elbowed your way through busy supermarket aisles and battled the crowded high streets. Or chosen to frustratedly click through cyber space, seeing ‘out of stock’ at every turn. Maybe you waited until Cyber Monday, crossing your fingers your items were still in your basket as you hurriedly entered your card details?

However you bagged your Black Friday bargains, we salute you. And now you’ve got your hands on those heavily discounted gems, you’ll want to keep everyone else’s off them.

So, we’ve put together a list of how to protect your new tech. From smartphone to iPad security, we’ll talk about the little things you can do to make them less likely to be stolen and more likely to be returned should the worst happen.

Keep them under lock and key

Getting a safe or having a lock on a closet or cupboard is a great way to deter burglars. Most want to be quickly in and out of a property, not trying to disable locks and risking getting caught.

Hide them away

When you leave the house, don’t tempt passers-by to try their luck by leaving expensive electronics on display. Especially not by windows or the front door where they’re easily visible.

Slip laptops under the wardrobe, disguise tablets in a bookshelf and hide smartphones in drawers. Any place that burglars in a hurry may not think to look.

Mix up your passwords

When deciding on passwords for your new tech, don’t choose the same one for every device. And make sure you keep them hard to hack by avoiding full words, choosing variations with upper and lowercase letters, plus numbers and symbols too.

Register your items

Keeping a record of your items’ serial codes and registering them online for that extra bit of device security is a smart choice. Every serial number is unique, meaning it’ll be easy for the police to identify you as the rightful owner of any stolen property.

Get a UV pen

Writing your postcode and house number on the underside of electronics with a UV pen gives pawn shop owners a good way to check if the item is stolen. It’s also another way for the police to return them to you easily if they’re recovered after burglary

Get them covered

Whether you add your new devices to an existing policy, or choose a company that deals specifically with iPad and smartphone security, make sure you get them insured.

It’s also good to take photos of your items and keep any paperwork relating to their value. This all acts as evidence for your insurer should they need it further down the line.

There you have it, a list of great ways to secure the bargains you worked hard to get in your basket. Now take a breath and relax, at least until the Christmas shopping begins.

Got any weird and wonderful ways you protect your devices? We’d love to hear them. Let us know on Twitter or Facebook.